One sentence
28 wordsObscura Flow is a suite of four local macOS apps that help artists and photographers gather their images, describe their work, preserve their originals, and arrange their archives.
Press
Everything to write about Obscura Flow without calling us.
Verifiable key facts, a boilerplate to quote in three lengths, brand elements, and the current version of each app. Screenshots are provided on request.
Key facts
What can be checked today.
Each line can be checked on the app sites. Each app's version, requirements, and terms are listed on its own site.
- Name
- Obscura Flow
- What it is
- A suite of four native macOS apps for artists and photographers
- Apps
- Obscura Trace, Obscura Catalog, Obscura Vault, Memory Atlas
- Network
- Local first: images and descriptions stay on the user's Mac
- Exchanges between apps
- Open files (CIDOC-CRM, LIDO, CSV exports; Obscura Catalog export package for Obscura Vault), no shared account
- Standards
- EXIF, IPTC, XMP, LIDO, CIDOC-CRM, ISAD(G)
- Sites and guides
- French and English
- Site
- obscuraflow.app
- Press contact
- contact@obscuraflow.app
Boilerplate
Three lengths, to quote as is.
Copy them without rewording. If you need another length or angle, write to us rather than assembling pieces.
Short
57 wordsObscura Flow is a suite of native macOS apps for artists and photographers, each built for one need. Obscura Trace consolidates photos scattered across drives; Obscura Catalog describes the work up to the catalogue raisonné; Obscura Vault preserves originals and proves they are intact; Memory Atlas arranges archives to the ISAD(G) standard. Everything stays on the Mac.
Long
128 wordsObscura Flow is a suite of native macOS apps built around one conviction: a body of work survives not because it is backed up, but because it stays findable, documented, and verifiable long after the software that produced it. Obscura Trace inventories drives, finds exact and visual duplicates, and consolidates a library through verified copies, deleting nothing without consent. Obscura Catalog organizes and describes images, enriches their EXIF and XMP metadata, and keeps the catalogue raisonné: works, prints, exhibitions, publications, provenance, and verifiable certificates of authenticity. Obscura Vault packs originals into sealed archives, replicates them on the user's media and off-site, checks their integrity, and restores them. Memory Atlas arranges and describes archives to the international ISAD(G) standard. The apps work on their own and exchange open files.
Editorial angle
What sets the suite apart.
Four stances with concrete consequences, rather than adjectives.
Local first, not cloud first
Images and descriptions live on the Mac. Nothing goes online without an action by the user: an off-site copy with Obscura Vault is a chosen destination, not a requirement.
Verify rather than promise
Verified copies, checked integrity, logged operations. Obscura Trace deletes nothing without consent; Obscura Vault checks the integrity of originals and restores them without overwriting anything.
Open standards by design
XMP, LIDO, CIDOC-CRM, ISAD(G): a body of work must not depend on the software that built it. Leaving is part of the product.
One app per need
Each app works on its own and exchanges files with the others. No shared account, no shared database: the user adopts only what they need.
Origins
A suite born from a real collection.
Obscura Flow was started by Solomon Jamy Brown, a photographer whose work questions memory and the trace of the image. Organizing his own collection, he ran into a question beyond filing: how to make sure these images remain readable, documented, and verifiable in ten, twenty, or fifty years.
That question, not a market niche, sets the priorities of each app, which is why preservation is treated as the heart of the matter rather than an option.
Solomon Jamy Brown's workScreenshots
Screenshots on request.
Tell us which app, which screens, and which format you need.
We provide full-resolution screenshots taken on a release build and a representative collection, with the exact caption of what they show. Each app's site also shows screenshots of its interface.
Reproduction terms: free to use in an editorial context about Obscura Flow, without cropping that would change the meaning of the interface or retouching the content shown.
Request screenshotsBrand elements
Name and icons.
The name is written “Obscura Flow”, two words, two capitals. No italics, no all caps, no “ObscuraFlow”. Each app keeps its own name: “Obscura Catalog”, “Memory Atlas”…
- Do not alter the proportions, colors, or corner radius of the icons.
- Do not merge them into another logo or set them next to a third-party brand in a way that suggests a partnership.
- Leave a margin of at least a quarter of their width around the icons.
- For print or vector formats, write to us: we will send the right file.
Versions
Current version of each app.
From each app's release notes. Full details are on each app's site.
- Obscura Trace 0.2.1New icon
- Obscura Catalog 0.24.0Verifiable certificates with nothing to host, and input examples
- Obscura Vault 1.6.0A licence bound to your Mac, accurate capture dates
- Memory Atlas 1.3.0Light or dark appearance
Press contact
Interview requests, extra screenshots, access to a trial version, fact-checking before publication: write to contact@obscuraflow.app.
Contact
A question about the apps?
Describe your practice and your archives: we will point you to the right app.